Travel agencies have begun to specialize in journeys for vacationing sportsmen
How about taking a balloon trip to an unknown destination this summer? This suggestion comes from Ports of Call travel consultants at 19 West 57 Street. Ports of Call is one of several agencies dedicated to providing new, offbeat ideas for the adventurous traveler. The balloon, which belongs to a Dutch ballooning club, takes off rain or shine with the pilot and three enthusiasts firmly ensconced in a Spanish reed basket that fully meets the requirements of Dutch aviation authorities. The pilot has had more than 400 flights, and no passenger has ever fallen out. Since the course is dictated by the wind, passengers are advised to carry German, Dutch and Belgian money. The trip costs $125 per person.
Ports of Call also suggests a three-week gold-diggers' tour to northern Brazil where gold powder and sometimes even nuggets are found in the Cuiucuiu Stream.
Jay Castle, who co-founded the Matter-horn Sport Club in 1958 and helped to send thousands of members on charter trips to Europe and the Far East, has now opened his own travel agency. Zenith Tours at 21 East 40 Street is set up to help the traveling sportsman who wants to participate in his sport in a foreign environment. Zenith has arranged three four-week tours for the sports-car buff who wants to do more than just watch at some of the Grand Prix World Championship and Grand Touring events in Europe this summer. Arrangements have been made for the client to enter the pits and paddocks during the trials and also to rent a sports car such as a Triumph or Lancia for traveling while in Europe. Each tour will cover two big races from a group that includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Grand Prix races of France, Holland, Germany, Austria and Italy.
H. LeRoy Whitney has established the Sports Travel Center at 445 Park Avenue. An active gentleman whose youthful appearance belies his age, which is 80, Mr. Whitney has roamed all over the globe and been a fisherman and hunter all his life. He recommends the 42,000 square miles of safari land in Mozambique for hunting lions and leopards, eland and zebra. A month-long tour costs $3,500, and the best time is from late July through September. Another tour—in quite the opposite kind of climate—includes a cruise in search of polar bear off Spitzbergen in the Arctic. Closer to home, Mr. Whitney will send you to the George River in northern Quebec for excellent salmon fishing. In that wilderness area, reachable only by float plane, camps for salmon fishermen are open from the first week in August until Sept. 15.